Spec my sister a laptop

Man of Honour
Joined
25 Oct 2002
Posts
31,707
Location
Hampshire
It's my sister's birthday in about a months time and I'm thinking about getting her a laptop. I don't really know much about what is available in terms of lappies so need some advice. She is quite a keen gamer but her current system is pretty dated (P3-500, 384meg ram, 6200 PCI) and I'd like something that can play RPG/strategy games like KOTOR, Dawn of War, AOE3 etc (Oblivion is probably a bit optimistic).

Requirements:

-Wireless LAN
-At least 512meg RAM
-Decent GPU, at least as powerful as a 9700pro

I don't have a budget per se but I'd prefer something under £650 if possible. I've tried looking around a bit myself but most laptops seem to either:
a) have dodgy integrated graphics
b) be expensive
It's frustrating because it seems that decent GPUs are mostly only available in high-end laptops which I'd rather not be splashing out on.
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Aug 2004
Posts
5,622
Location
Wigan
I would recommend a Dell Inspiron 6400 based system. The website allows you to customise the base system, and for £648 (incl VAT & del) you can get:

Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2050 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
512MB 533MHz Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x512)
60GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive
8x DVD/24x CDRW Combo Drive
128MB ATI® Mobility™ Radeon® X1300 HyperMemory™ graphics card
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card for Duo Processors

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dell...7645&rbc=N07645&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsrsinspn_6400_4 (link to configure system, not to the altered spec above)

The X1300 will be slower than the 9700pro, but not massively so, and for the money you are looking to spend I don't think you will get much better in a new system (especially from such a reputable manufacturer). And I would imagine that you will have to go second hand to get a better system.

For a further £70 you could get the 256Mb X1400 card (though this could be partially offset by downgrading the CPU to a solo core 1.86GHz).

The system could also do with anothe 512 stick of RAM, but I would get this from another source separately and install it yourself, rather than shell out the £141 Dell are asking for the upgrade.
 
Man of Honour
OP
Joined
25 Oct 2002
Posts
31,707
Location
Hampshire
Looks OK apart from the hypermemory graphics :(
Cheers anyway, it seems an increased budget is in order.

Christ, I've just noticed Dell charge over £450 to upgrade a x1400 HM to a 7900go!
 
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